The mainstream quad-core market has been neglected ever since we got Lynnfield in 2009. Both the high end and low end markets saw a move to 32nm, but if you wanted a mainstream quad-core desktop processor the best you could get was a 45nm Lynnfield from Intel. Even quad-core Xeons got the 32nm treatment.

That's all going to change starting next year. This time it's the masses that get the upgrade first. While Nehalem launched with expensive motherboards and expensive processors, the next tock in Intel's architecture cadence is aimed right at the middle of the market. This time, the ultra high end users will have to wait - if you want affordable quad-core, if you want the successor to Lynnfield, Sandy Bridge is it.

Sandy Bridge is the next major architecture from Intel. What Intel likes to call a tock. The first tock was Conroe, then Nehalem and now SB. In between were the ticks - Penryn, Westmere and after SB we'll have Ivy Bridge, a 22nm shrink of Sandy.

Did I mention we have one?

While Intel is still a few weeks away from releasing Sandy Bridge performance numbers at IDF, we managed to spend some time with a very healthy sample and run it through a few of our tests to get a sneak peak at what's coming in Q1 2011.

New Naming

The naming isn’t great. It’s an extension of what we have today. Intel is calling Sandy Bridge the 2nd generation Core i7, i5 and i3 processors. As a result, all of the model numbers have a 2 preceding them.

For example, today the fastest LGA-1156 processor is the Core i7 880. When Sandy Bridge launches early next year, the fastest LGA-1155 processor will be the Core i7 2600. The two indicates that it’s a 2nd generation Core i7, and the 600 is the model number.

Sandy Bridge CPU Comparison

Base Frequency

L3 Cache

Cores/Threads

Max Single Core Turbo

Intel HD Graphics Frequency/Max Turbo

Unlocked

TDP

Intel Core i7 2600K

3.4GHz

8MB

4 / 8

3.8GHz

850 / 1350MHz

Y

95W

Intel Core i7 2600

3.4GHz

8MB

4 / 8

3.8GHz

850 / 1350MHz

N

95W

Intel Core i5 2500K

3.3GHz

6MB

4 / 4

3.7GHz

850 / 1100MHz

Y

95W

Intel Core i5 2500

3.3GHz

6MB

4 / 4

3.7GHz

850 / 1100MHz

N

95W

Intel Core i5 2400

3.1GHz

6MB

4 / 4

3.4GHz

850 / 1100MHz

N

95W

Intel Core i3 2120

3.3GHz

3MB

2 / 4

N/A

850 / 1100MHz

N

65W

Intel Core i3 2100

3.1GHz

3MB

2 / 4

N/A

850 / 1100MHz

N

65W

The names can also have a letter after four digit model number. You’re already familiar with one: K denotes an unlocked SKU (similar to what we have today). There are two more: S and T. The S processors are performance optimized lifestyle SKUs, while the T are power optimized.

The S parts run at lower base frequencies than the non-S parts (e.g. a Core i7 2600 runs at 3.40GHz while a Core i7 2600S runs at 2.80GHz), however the max turbo frequency is the same for both (3.8GHz). GPU clocks remain the same but I’m not sure if they have the same number of execution units. All of the S parts run at 65W while the non-S parts are spec’d at 95W.

Sandy Bridge CPU Comparison

Base Frequency

L3 Cache

Cores/Threads

Max Single Core Turbo

Intel HD Graphics Frequency/Max Turbo

TDP

Intel Core i7 2600S

2.8GHz

8MB

4 / 8

3.8GHz

850 / 1100MHz

65W

Intel Core i5 2500S

2.7GHz

6MB

4 / 4

3.7GHz

850 / 1100MHz

65W

Intel Core i5 2500T

2.3GHz

6MB

4 / 4

3.3GHz

650 / 1250MHz

45W

Intel Core i5 2400S

2.5GHz

6MB

4 / 4

3.3GHz

850 / 1100MHz

65W

Intel Core i5 2390T

2.7GHz

3MB

2 / 4

3.5GHz

650 / 1100MHz

35W

Intel Core i3 2100T

2.5GHz

3MB

2 / 4

N/A

650 / 1100MHz

35W

The T parts run at even lower base frequencies and have lower max turbo frequencies. As a result, these parts have even lower TDPs (35W and 45W).

I suspect the S and T SKUs will be mostly used by OEMs to keep power down. Despite the confusion, I like the flexibility here. Presumably there will be a price premium for these lower wattage parts.

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199 Comments

There will be i7 processors that require three (3 !!!) different sockets! Maybe even 4 when 2011 comes. Intel can't get their naming right for quite some time now, but they've outdone themselves this time.Reply

Processor names really should mean something, even if AMD and Intel don't agree. It's annoying that I have to wikipedia a processor (or memorize a thousand processors) to know what it is. We are still getting quotes for three year old Opterons and Xeons (that we're using as desktops no less), those only add to the annoyance.

What ends up happening - good for Intel bad for technology advancement - is non IT type people buying computers are buying DDR2-667 based three-year old desktop processors.Reply

AMD seriously has their work cut out for them with Bulldozer. The lowest end Sandy Bridge processor absolutely trounced the competition. It's insane what Intel is pulling off here, especially in the integrated graphics arena. Really makes me hope Larrabee comes back as a discrete product in the next few years.Reply

- based on the shown roadmap, the replacement for the i5 760 is actually the i5 2500(K).

- i7 will have even better performance with 8 MB L3 Cache and higher graphics turbo. So there is even more performance potential in the SandyBridge die that Intel could unlock for lower SKUs if needed.Reply